What The Water Gave Me
by moonkicks
Summary: AU Emison. Emily's really glad she took those CPR classes because that floating body she pulled out of the water just may change this year's entire outlook.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

The last time she walked this trail, Emily Fields combed sand out of her hair for weeks. She still scolds that damn tiny dog for crossing her path and sending her flying face first into the Cape May beach. She was five then. A girl who thought being seventeen would mean she was close to death. Needless to say, she had a long way to go.

Emily's toes padded along the damp sand. The cool feeling providing a much needed relief from the heated beach grains earlier that day. The hues of the slowly setting sun begin to glisten off the ocean water offering an array of oranges and yellows. The beach is nearly secluded now as families are packing up their belongings to head back to their summer homes. Her senses heighten with the straggling dogs running behind them. She doesn't need any repeats from childhood.

She sits herself at the perfect destination near the rocks and places her shoes to the side. Her intentions are focused on nothing except relaxing and watching the beautiful setting sun. Her toes dig into the sand as she catches a silhouette teetering along the furthest end of the rocks. From her spot she can make out a girl, seemingly trying to take in the sunset as well. Switching off on each foot to balance on single rocks.

Emily's eyes drift past the mystery woman to spot the lighthouse on the horizon. Its begun its usual duties for the evening as the light guides the small collection of boats. The waves are lapping a bit hard against the rocks today and Emily wonders if there might be a storm brewing off the coast. She's thankful when she spots no clouds in the distance. The walk back to her grandma's would not be fun soaked in rain water.

The brunette shuts her eyes briefly, taking in the serene and soothing sounds of the water hitting the coast. A week of this and she'll be rejuvenated enough to start fresh to yet another town she's being forced to move to. She sighs thinking about what a pain it's going to be to do senior year not knowing a soul. Well, not completely. She has one old friend from camp that lives in Rosewood. A friendship that was mostly kept up with on social media posts.

The overwhelming feeling of having to come out to a new group of people wasn't exactly anti-anxiety inducing. Coming out to her mother this year had been hard enough, so right now, this was just going to be a nice, drama free, soothing peaceful mom-

A shrill scream in the distance causes her eyes to shoot open and dart to the direction the piercing noise originated. The girl on the rocks has vanished and Emily's stomach drops. She stands swiftly and shoves her Vans back on as quickly as possible, hobbling up to the rocks at the same time. She sprints down them, but careful not to wind up slipping herself.

As she reaches the edge, she frantically searches for a body and hopes that they're still above water. Her heart starts to race as she spots the girl face down in the ocean. Blonde wisps of hair are sprawled and floating atop it. Instincts kick in as she slides herself down the slippery edge to the safest point where the rocks meet the ocean. Emily stretches her arms out and finds that she can't reach her from here. The tide carries the body out further from grasp and begins to sink.

She dives in and hopes any ounce of swimming practice has prepared her for this dire moment. Thankfully, the body has only travelled a few feet and she turns it around so the head is now above the water. Her left arm snakes firmly around the stranger's shoulders. The coast is too far for Emily to reach promptly and she's not sure she has the time to spare. Luckily, the rocks aren't piled too high and she begins to pull them both up to a flatter surface.

She places the girl's head down trying to be as gentle as possible and notices she can't be any older than herself. When she draws back her hand, a small patch of blood coats her palm and her panic heightens. She struggles to recall every CPR class she's ever taken and prays too much water hasn't entered the girl's lungs. She begins the motions of pumping her diaphragm and holds the girls nose, lips sending air into the blonde.

Emily tries not to panic when the first few tries aren't working and she's still not breathing. "Come on, breathe." She whispers to herself on pump number 120. Its when she reaches pump 400 that her arms begin to tire. She transfers two more breaths and checks again for any signs of breathing. She wants to cry, wishing that there was anyone anywhere to call an ambulance. She tries another thirty compressions, two more breaths.

She waits. Desperation clinging as much as her soaked clothes are to her body. "Please don't die." Because _FUCK_. What a way to end the summer. She pounds her fist onto the pavement, creating scratches in the process.

The blonde starts to cough, water sputtering out of her and Emily wants to cry tears of joy. She watches her carefully as the blonde's eyes flutter open and back to life.

"Are you okay?" Emily asks, but internally scolds herself. _Of course she's not, you idiot._

She coughs again as more salt water is released from her lungs and tries to speak. "W-what happened?" The blonde clutches Emily's hand as she tries to sit up slowly, her chest in pain from all of Emily's attempts to revive her.

"I'm not sure, but I think you slipped on the rocks. Might have hit your head on the way down the water?"

The stranger winces as she moves to touch the spot on the back of her head that's pulsating. It has trickles of blood, but not enough to possibly warrant any real cause for alarm. Her vision is slightly blurred, but slowly comes back into focus as she shifts her attention to her supposed savior. "You saved me?"

Her eyes are welling with tears, but finally begin to make out the person's form. The brunette is her age or older, clearly beautiful even though she's soaked head to toe.

Emily shrugs, but sighs with relief. "I guess so. You're lucky I heard you scream. There's no one else out here. What's your name?" She asks, hoping all the things she's seen on TV about head injuries are true.

"Alison." Clearly, Emily can tell she's still in pain.

"I'm Emily." She gives her a small reassuring smile. "Who's the president and how many fingers am I holding up?"

"Huh?" Alison's confused and hopes this doesn't require a visit to the hospital after all.

"You have a head injury. That seems to be what people ask on TV." Emily holds her hand up again.

"Three."

Emily nods to confirm the correct answer. "Think you can stand up?"

Alison just nods, still discombobulated. Emily stands first and holds out both of her hands for her to grab onto. She complies as the brunette carefully lifts her and throws an arm around her shoulders to help steady herself. They watch out for any potential slipping on their journey back across the rocks to the shore. When they both jump down, Emily winces as the impact triggers a calf injury she didn't realize she acquired from her rescue attempt.

"You're bleeding." Alison begins to bend down to inspect, but Emily stalls her.

"I'm fine, just a scratch. Do you feel like you need to go to the hospital?"

"No, I think I'll be okay. "

"Where do you live? Can I at least walk you home?"

"It's okay. It's not very far -"

Emily cuts her off immediately. "Can I please? Otherwise, I'll be up all night wondering if you collapsed halfway there and then some psycho sea turtle decided to bury you."

Alison raises an eyebrow. _Who say's that?_ "Psycho sea turtle? I think I'll take my chances."

"Please? I insist." Emily clasped her hand onto Alison's forearm and the blonde looks down at it in surprise. No one else would ever dare to do such an intimate touch to her back in Rosewood. She realizes even if she say's no, Emily would probably follow anyway. "Okay. I'm just up the street."

Their trek is mostly in silence, Emily glancing over every now and again in concern. Alison decides to start the conversation to ease this poor girls nerves. "So, are you here for the rest of the summer?"

"Only a week or so. Just a pit stop before moving off to a new town."

"Where did you come from before?"

"Texas."

"No accent?" Alison rakes eyes over Emily. She's clearly the antithesis of big, blonde and overly hair sprayed. Although, who knows what kind of product the water washed out.

"My Dad's in the army, so we move around a lot. Never had the chance to pick up one on the way."

The conversation doesn't last very long as they finally meet the edge of the beach and cross to the first block over. "I'm just up at the house on the corner."

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?"

Alison nods slightly. "I promise. My mom's inside and I'm positive we have a first aid kit to clean up my head."

"Okay." Emily shuffles awkwardly on her feet and Alison seems to mimic the same as they bathe in each other's awkwardness. "So, I'll just head off then." The brunette points off into an undisclosed distance behind her. "If I were you, I'd avoid those rocks from now on."

"You can count on it." Alison smiles faintly and watches as Emily begins to walk away. She berates herself as she realizes she didn't even bother thank the girl for saving her life. "Emily, wait!" She jogs to catch up with her and pauses in front of her for a few seconds. Emily's looking at her expectantly and Alison flails her arms around her body. "Thank you for saving me."

Emily's surprised at first, but wraps her own arms timidly around the shorter girl. "You're welcome."

Its short lived as they part and exchange another goodbye. Emily shoots her a look back to make sure she hasn't collapsed, only to see Alison still staring at her retreating form. Alison seems to catch on how creepy this may seem, so she hastily waves and heads straight down the direction she pointed out to Emily.

Emily grins and stuffs her hands into damp pockets. Her mind drifts to think about that boring first day of class assignment all schools seem to do every year. No matter how old you are. What did I do this summer? _I saved some strange girl from drowning and a rabid pack of ocean life from devouring her corpse. Seems like a great opening line._ She congratulates herself on her achievement - even if she had to miss the sunset.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

Emily finds herself traveling back to the same beach spot she tried to enjoy the previous night. Thankfully, when she peers to the rocks the blonde has heeded her advice to avoid them. No rescues for her this evening. "Perfect. Sunset, here I come."

"Are you sure you aren't the one who was knocked on the head?" A vaguely familiar voice calls from behind her and nearly sends her into a mild heart attack. "Talking to yourself is the first sign of madness."

She clutches her chest and turns to see the victim from yesterday. Her blonde tresses are falling limply past her shoulders as a yellow tank top fits her form just right. She's oozing a self confidence that even dogs could sense and Emily's pretty sure she's hearing them howl in the distance.

"Are you going to invite me to join you or are you just going to stare?"

Emily shakes herself out of her thoughts and pats the spot next to her. "Sorry!" _Smooth, Em. Real smooth._ She gulps as Alison saunters closer, collapsing in the spot she just motioned to on the sand. "How are you feeling?"

"Good. My head still hurts, but not as badly as I expected." She turns her head instantly so Emily can get a better look and inspect.

Emily parts her hair just slightly to avoid provoking any additional pain and gives her own Dr. Fields assessment. "You lucked out. It doesn't look bad at all." Slightly bruised with just a tiny hint of dried blood, she notes.

Alison turns back abruptly as she's in the middle of examining the wound. Their faces come a little closer than anticipated and that's when she can fully take in her face. Not dyeing, drowning and coughing up water Alison. The fully alive short short wearing dry version. _Geez_ , is her eye color even a real- she pulls back realizing she's being strange and focuses back on the horizon. "I'm hoping you aren't planning on going rock climbing again tonight."

"God, no! Never again. Strictly beachly from now on." Alison sighs, eyeing the water as well. "You know, I was thinking about it last night. You're kind of a mermaid."

"Mermaid?" Emily almost asks to examine that head wound again.

"You saved me. Like in The Little Mermaid. Ariel saves Eric from drowning?"

Emily turns to assess her, amusement written all over her face. "Did you really just compare your near death experience to a cartoon?"

Alison shrugs. "If you have a talking crab in your pocket, I wouldn't be surprised."

Emily can't help but laugh audibly and let's out a light snort in the process. And simultaneously she's wants to crawl back into herself.

Alison smiles knowingly, but spares her any teasing. "So, how's the sunset tonight?"

"Better than last night's. First one I've had the pleasure to enjoy since I've been here."

"They're not that bad. My parents, brother and I have almost always come down to Cape May for the summer. When my brother and I started getting older, we fought a lot. Like way more than normal siblings. I would always sneak out to catch the sunset and avoid them as much as possible." Alison looks down solemnly, clearly caught in her own memories, but Emily won't dare to probe. "There's always been something soothing about coming out here alone."

"I've always enjoyed that it's one of two times you get to see all these different colors fade into one another. It doesn't last very long, so you have to catch it while you can." Emily interjects and Alison stays silent. "It's like a beginning and an end to all the stress of the day. That weird in-between."

"So, how's it working out for you tonight?"

"Better than being at home."

"Trouble?"

"Sometimes." Emily keeps it as vague as Alison had, leaving the moment void of anything to weigh it down. "Plus, its always nice to look at something pretty."

They enjoy each other's company for the duration of the sunset, mostly bathed in silence. The occasional quip about how great the food at Annie's Crab Shack in town is or the weird smell that sometimes radiates off the boardwalks in the adjacent shore towns. The burnt oranges melt into the horizon and Emily's sure this might be the most relaxed she's felt all summer. She sneaks a glance at her phone and groans as she catches the time. "Sorry to cut this short, but I need to head back."

"Late for a hot date?" Alison jokes.

"Yeah, a date with a bunch of old ladies and some of my parents old friends." Emily sighs, standing to brush off the excess sand from her legs. She really doesn't want to endure that pain. "So, ya know, loads of fun."

Alison follows suit, mimicking Emily's movements. "I should probably get back, too."

"Well, it was good too see you again. Glad you're okay."

"Thanks again. You know, for the saving and everything."

"My pleasure. Bye, Alison." They begin to head in their opposite directions until Alison is re-enacting their same goodbye from the previous night.

"Emily, wait a second!" She jogs the short distance and smirks with her hand held out towards Emily. "Can I see your phone?"

Emily complies and ignores the way her stomach churns when Alison's fingers brush lightly over her own.

Alison punches something in quickly and hands it right back to her. "I sent myself a text, so now we have each other's numbers. Have fun with the old ladies! Make sure you get some money out of 'em." She winks and Emily just shakes her head in amusement.

* * *

Emily stretches her legs across her grandma's old leather couch the next morning. Her parent's have gone out for the day, leaving her to spend some quality time with the original Mrs. Fields. She doesn't mind, but according to her grandmother, quality time meant a steady flow of The Price is Right and her heckling the ladies of The View.

Her phone beeps, breaking her out of the draining lull and alerting her of a new text message. Alison is scrawled across as the sender.

ALISON: Good morning! How were the old broads?

Emily smiles, fingers typing faster than thought. She thanks the gods of Cape May she found someone her own age to occupy some of her time.

EMILY: Riveting. Lots of cheek pinching and embarrassing baby stories.

ALISON: Meet at our spot tonight?

EMILY: Sunset?

ALISON: Duh. See you then, Ariel!

Emily feels a flutter of excitement in her gut as she scrawls another reply.

EMILY: With bells on, Flounder.

ALISON: DORK :-p

"What lucky lady has you smiling like that?"

Emily jumps a little, completely caught off guard that she had some how gotten her grandmother's attention. And wait- did she just say lucky _lady_?

Her grandma seems to sense her internal monologue and rolls her eyes. "Oh Emily, calm down! Your father told me." She stretches a consoling hand to Emily's leg and pats it lovingly. "I don't care who you love as long as you're happy. Your mom will come around."

Emily's emotions bubble up instantly. All she can feel is the overwhelming feeling to bawl her eyes out, but reels it in to settle for glassy eyes. She wipes a few stray tears that fall naturally and ticks another coming out speech off the list. She can't help but stand and envelope her grandma in the biggest hug imaginable. An over exaggerated ommph radiates from Mrs. Fields and Emily just laughs. "I love you, grams."

"I love you too, Emmy." Mrs. Fields hugs her back, but then playfully pushes her off. "Alright, too much sappiness. Let a woman breathe. So, you didn't answer my question. Who get's to make you smile like that?"

Emily shakes her head, trying to play it off as nothing. "It's not like that. She's just a new friend I met on the beach the other night."

Grandma Fields just gives her a knowing look. "I might be old and cynical, but I do like my romance. She pretty?"

"Oh my god!" Emily moves to march out of the room, grabbing both of their empty mugs from the coffee table. "You want another one?"

The elder woman relents, knowing her granddaughter will tell her all about it when she's ready. "Of course, Emmy. Just put a little whiskey in it this time."

Emily doesn't think she loves her grandmother more than this moment.

* * *

Emily makes her way to the usual spot that evening. She catches blonde wisps of hair dance in the light wind as she approaches, small bag at her side. "Hey."

Alison whips around at the sound. A smile takes over her face as the brunette comes into focus. "Hay is for horses."

Emily raises her brows. "And you were calling me a dork?"

"How very dare you!" Alison feigns offense like a southern debutante clutching her precious pearls. She sits and picks the bag up from her side. "I brought you a present."

She pulls out a bag of Reese's Pieces and instructs Emily to open up her hands. "It's no diamond ring, but everyone loves chocolate and peanut butter. Right?"

"Of course." Emily replies. Alison let's a bunch spill out onto her hands and makes sure to take a handful for herself, letting the bag fall to the space between them. "Thanks."

"So Emily, how many boy's hearts did you break when you told them you were moving?"

Emily nearly chokes on the candy, but is able to recover and save herself the embarrassment. "That'd be a big fat zero."

Alison's looking at her like she's lying and sends some severe disbelieving side eye her way. "Bullshit. Boy's down south must be moronic if they're not graveling at your feet. You're gorgeous."

Emily bows her head in an attempt to hide the blush that's beginning to creep up her neck. "Well, we've moved around a lot and it's not like I'm all that interested."

Alison finds her coyness almost as endearing as her babble from their first night. "You're better off. Nothing but trouble."

"What about you? I'm sure you're not exactly having any trouble reeling them in like fish."

Alison laughs and Emily's attention is far more focused on the girl to her right than the reason they've even come here for. She's quite sure that reason's changed now. "Always with the fish comparisons?"

"I like to keep it consistent." She nudges her shoulder against the blondes to egg her on. "Now answer the question."

"Reeling them in? Easy. Actually wanting to be around them?" She just shrugs, smile fading a bit.

Emily studies her expression for a second and decides to keep the banter light. "Well forget them and everybody else. Its just us, the sun and some Reese's. That's all we need. At least for right now, anyway."

Alison looks fixedly at her and almost unnervingly before she removes the bag of chocolate from in between them. She scoots a bit closer and let's out a large breath as she places her head on Emily's shoulder. "It's more than enough."

Emily smiles contentedly and stares ahead. She's already counting down the hours until tomorrow.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Lunch in an overcrowded restaurant. Lunch with a nagging mother in that overcrowded restaurant. It's everywhere Alison DiLaurentis doesn't want to be right now.

She rolls her eyes as her mother continues to scold her for being late to dinner every night this week. She tries to counter argue that Jason hasn't even shown up for any of them the entire time they've been in Cape May.

Jessica DiLaurentis sighs, exasperated with her daughter. "He's in college, Ali. He's an adult now."

Alison huffs in the familiar way she does every time her mother favors her older brother. _Adult, pfft!_ A jobless pot head whose every 'adult' t-shirt has remnants of Cheetos permanently engrained in their threads. Her silver bracelet clanks against her plate as she stabs her salad aggressively with a fork. Each tomato she imagines as Jason's smug face.

A loud laugh interrupts her thoughts and halts the tomato murder spree. Her attention drifts across the bustling restaurant from person to person. She figures out where the loud laugh had originated from and blue eyes examine the table from across the room. It's filled with an array of people her mother's age. All of whom's eyes seem to be focused on one end. She follows the eye line and finds it leads to an elderly woman and - _Emily_?!

Alison sits up straighter at the sight of her. She's not sure why, but feels like she needs to be perfect and on point in her presence. She continues to poke at her food in attempt to make it look like she's not blatantly gawking. Seeing Emily in this way is different. Like a newly released zoo animal in her own habitat. She watches as the brunette smiles politely at whatever her present company is discussing.

An older woman, who looks just as uptight as her own mother, rests a hand on Emily's shoulder. _Her mom_ , she thinks, examining their similarities. Alison guesses that she's boasting to the table about how great Emily is and all her worldly accomplishments. Accomplishments that Alison has yet to learn.

All looks fine and dandy until Emily's face suddenly turns sour at something that's said.

It doesn't last long as Emily's mother seems to register her change in mood and instead goes back to laughing with her friends. The woman clearly disregarding whatever has upset her daughter. She knows that tactic well.

Alison does manage to catch the elderly woman sliding Emily over a glass of wine which gains a small smirk from Emily. She feels the need to stand up and applaud when her new friend downs it in one go.

Emily sets the glass back down and her eyes dart casually about. She glances around before she finally locks eyes with her. Alison can visibly see them warm from the previous glare she had sent her mother's way. Not expecting to be caught, Alison chokes on the lettuce she'd shoveled into her mouth and Emily chuckles at her mishap.

"Alison? Are you okay?" Her mother asks concerned.

Alison beats her chest until it finally goes begins to go down the right pipe. She chugs her glass of water and meets her mother's eyes. If she doesn't, she knows she's going to be nagged endlessly. "I'm fine."

Her mother accepts her answer and continues on with whatever story about the Hasting's she's been telling this time. She wonders how awful her mom is at thinking she's actually listening or if she just likes the sound of her own voice.

She turns back in Emily's direction, more worry on her face than what riddled her own mother's as Emily mouths, "Are you okay?"

Alison nods, pulling out her phone to shoot a quick text.

ALISON: Still alive, mermaid. No need for saving today. How's that wine?

She hears Emily snort from here and notes that this seems to be a thing she does. It's kind of adorable.

EMILY: MUCH NEEDED!

Alison glances back at Emily again. The elderly woman she's sat next to is leaning over to whisper in her ear. Emily's eyes are as wide as saucer's and she blushes so deeply that Alison's amazed she can even see it when she's that tan.

Her confusion grows when the elderly woman is now sending Alison a tiny wave. She waves back when she realizes how much this seems to be embarrassing Emily. She normally hates old people, but this one doesn't seem half bad. She hears her phone beep again and she know's exactly whom the sender is.

EMILY: My grandma say's hi and to stop stealing my attention so much.

ALISON: Tell her I'll need cookies as payment.

EMILY: She say's DEAL.

"Alison! Will you please at least pretend to be engaged in conversation?"

She clenches her eyes and let's out a deep sigh. "Sorry, mom." She honors her mother's request, but makes a note to wave goodbye to the women across the room before they exit.

* * *

Alison is overjoyed when Emily trudges up the beach clutching a tin of her promised homemade cookies. All courtesy of Grandma Fields. No cookie pun intended.

"Are you trying to fatten me up?" Alison quips, narrowing accusatory eyes.

Emily retorts, "Only so the next time you swim you'll be able to float".

"Bitch." Alison spits back amusingly, if not a hint impressed. She nearly rips the tin in half when Emily also informs her they're peanut butter and chocolate chip.

Emily recalls the joke her grandmother made when she shoved them in her hands. "These are for your date with your 'not girlfriend'. Make sure to take all the credit." Emily had rolled her eyes and reminded her to stop referring to her as such.

Emily's delighted when Alison seems to enjoy the first one. Squirming slightly at the sounds that expel from her voice. They are near criminal. "Did you make these?"

"No, my grandma did. She wanted me to bring them to my no- " Emily pauses, almost slipping on the name she reprimanded her grandmother for, "new friend."

Alison chomps into another cookie and a trickle of melted chocolate catches on the outer corner of her lip. "Can she adopt me?"

Emily watches as she doesn't even register what she's done. Alison just continues devouring it like a machine. She doesn't want to tell her, mostly for her own amusement, but decides she's not that cruel. "You got a little something." She points to the same spot on her own face and Alison's tongue curls out to the corner of her lip to find it.

"Did I get it?" It's still there and Emily can't help but giggle at all her continuous failed attempts. Her tongue lapping against the side of her mouth like a dog.

Emily decides to end her misery. "How are you missing this? It literally is right there." Before she even can register what she's doing, she's leaning forward to wipe it herself. In the absence of a proper napkin, she slides the pad of her thumb across the corner of Alison's lips. She smirks as it disappears and licks the residual chocolate off her own finger. "There. All gone."

Alison freezes mid chew and stares back at her. The look is riddled with so many emotions that Emily can't even begin to decipher. She registers how intimate the gesture was and decides she's just blown this friendship up. "Sorry."

The blonde just gulps down whatever is left in her mouth and diverts her gaze toward the ocean. She places the tin of cookies on the sand and returns its lid. Uncomfortable silence lingers until Alison decides to clear her throat, eager to change the atmosphere as soon as possible. "My brother finally decided to show his face around the house today."

Emily recalls what Alison mentioned the previous night and shifts, still uneasy. "Was it bad?"

"No, he and his idiot friends just raided the fridge because they spent all their money on beer." She gesture's to the group situated on beach chairs a fair distance behind them.

Emily turns her gaze and makes out a group of early twenty-something aged men. Laughing and passing around what seems like a joint on cheap beach chairs. She hadn't even realized they were there to begin with. "You better hide those cookies before they figure out you're hoarding them."

"I will die for these cookies." Alison announces proudly, re-opening them. They're held so close to her own body, the Hulk couldn't rip them from her if he tried. "They ate half of my food already. These cookies are off limits."

Emily let's out the breath she was holding, thankful the previous awkwardness has dissipated. "Can I at least have one?"

"You said your grandma made these for me. I need to make these last 'til Labor Day!"

"What kind of friend doesn't share? Do I need to remind you that I did save your life and all…"

"Fine!" Alison relents and hold's the package out for her to grab one of her own. She pulls back teasingly on Emily's first reach for the sweets and again on the second.

"Ali! Come on!" Emily crosses her arms across her chest. "I'm not reaching again."

"I promise I won't move it this time." Her tone is mischievous and she knows its a lie.

However, Emily anticipates she would pull this stunt again and lunges forward a bit too much. The move sends half of them flying in the air and her body throws Alison back onto the sand.

Alison's mouth is agape in horror and scolds the woman who landed atop her. "Emily!"

Emily places her hands on each side of Alison's head to prop herself back up. Hands dig into the coarse sand and she just snickers. "That was your own fault."

"Was not! You're an animal."

"Don't be so dramatic, cookie monster."

Alison's looking at her like she just shot her puppy and gives Emily a lighthearted push toward the side. "An _evil_ cookie hungry animal."

Emily rolls over next to her chuckling, pulling out a cookie she lands on from under her back. It's littered in sand and she lifts it straight to Alison's face. "Open up!"

"Gross!" Alison swats Emily's hand away and it joins the rest that have littered the beach. She sits up and shakes her hair free of sand. "You know, we really should bring something to sit on next time. Like normal civilized people."

Emily follows suit, wiping excess sand that clings to her forearms. "I'd say we're far from normal."

"Speak for yourself."

 _If you only knew._ She thinks as the burnt sky begins crawling into darkness. She swears these sunset's go by faster each time. "I'm not the one who was chocking on a salad today."

"Say's the girl who was sneaking wine." Alison remembers with a grin.

Emily scoffs. "You would too if you had to hear that conversation."

"It couldn't have been as bad as mine. My mother kept drudging on and on about the awful quiche Mrs. Hastings makes at their annual 'what-ever chair' this week meeting." She clears her throat in preparation to imitate her mother's voice. "Why Alison, they were positively dreadful. Did you hear that some waiter at the club had to take Veronica Hasting's home? A right drunk she is. I don't know how Peter puts up with it!"

Alison rolls her eye's to herself. "The way she goes on and on, you'd think she was secretly in love with her husband half the time."

Emily's silent and just smiles politely.

"What's wrong?"

"Just thinking."

"Did your mom say something horrible today? Do you want to talk about it?"

"It's complicated."

Alison nudges her shoulder, offering a smirk to ease whatever hesitation the brunette has. "Come on. I can keep a secret."

Emily mimics her earlier tight lipped smile. "Maybe some other time."

Alison's frowning now and Emily feels like she just shoved herself so far back in the closet. She wants to tell her, but she just _can't_. It aches deep in her core like it has all of her adolescent life.

Alison grabs one of the cookie's that's survived and holds it out for Emily to take. "A cookie for your thoughts?"

"Definitely."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry for the delay! Thanks to everyone for the kind words. I hope I can keep it up!**

 **Chapter Four**

"You need help with that?" A deep voice calls from beside Emily and startles her. She's wrestling with a way to carry the kayak and paddles she's just rented. This guy must think she's completely helpless. Typical.

"No, it's okay." Emily responds just as she loses her grip and all comes tumbling down onto the sand.

She hears him chuckle at her mishap, but he shuffles over to help her pick it all back up. "I don't mind."

"I guess I need more help than I thought." Emily holds her hand out to shake and he obliges. "I'm Emily."

He's got muscles, but still somewhat lean at the same time. It doesn't match the typical Jersey shore type she's seen wondering about the town.

"Jason." He tucks the paddles into the bungee's that adorn each edge and tucks the life vests into the body of the tiny vessel. They each grab an end, Jason at the back and Emily at the front so she can guide him to the right destination.

As soon as they arrive, they plop the kayak down with a thud. Emily pushes it a little into the water, but just enough so it won't float off and turns back to her helper. "Thanks, Jason. I'm not sure I could have lugged this thing down by myself."

He pushes back the few strands of hair that fall in his eyes. Its beyond sun kissed that it almost looks fake. She notes he'd be better suited with a surfboard in California than stranded in Cape May. "Not a problem. Why'd you get a two seater for yourself?"

"Oh I'm not using this alone, someone's meeting me here." She looks around for any sign of her friend, but comes up empty. "They just seem to be a little late."

"Lucky guy. No girl's ever taken me out for a date on a kayak." He winks at Emily and flashes a charming smile that could melt even the coldest of girls.

Emily smiles back politely, not having the heart to tell him he's barking up the wrong tree. "It's not a date. Just a friend."

"Well, I gotta say, it's pretty romantic for _just_ a friend. Sunset, two of you alone…" He trails off as he wags his eyebrows up and down suggestively.

"What the hell are you doing here?" A _very_ stern voice calls from behind.

Emily looks past Jason to see Alison, arms crossed and shooting the deadliest of daggers towards him. She makes a note to never be on the receiving end of those. If lasers were attached to her pupils, she's pretty sure Jason would be obliterated beyond recognition.

Jason rolls his eyes in the classic fashion. "I was helping Emily carry her kayak down. Is that a crime?"

Alison ignores his answer and instead turns to give a much friendlier gaze towards Emily. "Is this idiot bothering you, Em?"

He looks between Emily and Alison and starts to put two and two together. He mirrors Alison's line of sight back to Emily, pointing at the blonde in disbelief. " _This_ is who you're taking on a kayak? Oh Emily, you seem far too nice to have to put up with that."

Alison interjects before she can respond. "Stop hitting on underage girls, Jason. She's not interested."

"Settle down, tiger." He turns back again to Emily with a grin and a pat to her shoulder. "Good luck. You'll need it with the ice queen on that thing." He begins to wander away laughing to himself and making sure to ruffle Alison's hair as he passes her.

Alison swats his hand off and does her best to fix whatever mess he's just made.

It finally clicks in Emily's mind. She should have guessed it by the familiar eye roll alone. It's _that_ Jason.

"Whatever my brother said to you, ignore it."

Emily shrugs. "He was nice. Helped me out, actually."

"That's a first." Alison looks to the kayak situated behind her. "Is this why you asked me to come earlier?"

"I figured instead of just sitting on the beach, we could watch the sunset from the water."

Alison looks uneasy.

"Look, if you fall in I've been known to rescue certain blondes around here. Plus look!" Emily grabs a brightly colored orange life vest from the front seat and thrusts it in Alison's direction.

"I'm not worried about that." She holds it away from her body like its a diseased animal, upper lip curled in disgust. "This is hideous."

"Just put it on."

Alison does what she's asked and buckles the vest up. She throws two hands on her hips to showcase the new adorned garment and does her best pose for Emily. "How do I look?"

"Like a safe oompa loompa. Now get in, we're going to miss it."

"So pushy." She snags the paddle Emily holds out to her and reluctantly helps push the kayak further into the water.

Water grows higher up their calves with each step as Alison hops into the front seat first and Emily into the back. They begin to paddle out into the horizon in unison and the familiar shades of color hit the calm ocean surrounding them.

"See this isn't so bad."

Alison turns halfway around with a sly grin. "I was only complaining about the ugly vest you made me wear. Not hanging out with you."

They come to a stand still, laying their paddles on their laps as they allow themselves to float on the water. Emily peers at the sunset and their surroundings. The two girls haven't ventured too far from the shore, but far enough they would never be bothered.

There's a buoy bell clanging in the distance and she turns her attention back to Alison whose silhouetted by the sunset. It's beautiful and the glowing sun illuminates her frame. Emily reach's down to the waterproof bag situated between her legs. This moment is in need of a photo and she's so glad she's invested in this bag today.

"EMILY." Alison seethes through gritted teeth. "THERE'S A SHARK." She hits Emily's leg behind her, frantic at the possibility of being eaten alive. Her other hand is gripped and white knuckled on the paddle handle.

"Ow!" Emily's head shoots back up and grabs Alison's hand to cease the abuse. "Its probably just a dolphin."

The finned animal nears Alison's side and she wails. "That is NOT A DOLPHIN!" She tries to propel herself backward, but is stopped by the cheap rayon seat backing. Instead she squeezes Emily's hand harder, eyes clenched. "This was a terrible idea."

She runs her free hand back and forth over Alison's in a attempt to comfort her. "I was trying to be spontaneous. Don't people always complain they don't do that enough?" She peers over the edge and she can clearly see the bottle nose of the dolphin through the blueish water. This moment would be a lot cooler if the blonde wasn't so convinced they were about to be devoured. Maybe Jason had a valid point.

"Not when there's deadly sea creatures involved."

Emily smirks as Alison whimpers with each word. "For someone who has such a tough exterior, you're such a baby." She sways the boat back and forth, clearly trying to torture her friend and milk it for all its worth.

"We've all seen Jaws, Emily! There's not exactly a lot of boat here to keep us safe!" She grips her hand even tighter than before. "Now would you stop moving. Maybe it won't see us."

"It's not a T-Rex." She sighs. "Its okay to look now. I think it swam off." Emily peels Alison's clutched hand from her's finger by finger. She's hoping to restore any ounce of circulation or feeling. "Now, look up and enjoy the view. You're missing the best part."

Alison relents, still terrified of whatever animal was circling them. Its breath taking from this point of view and she finds it in herself to relax a bit. She notices the finned fish is indeed long gone and all is peaceful in their kayak. It's silent except for the gentle waves the glide against the small amount of plastic that encases them.

"Turn around for a second." Alison does and Emily reaches back to her bag, pulling out her phone like she had intended before. She holds it up doing her best to position the camera to find its best angle. "Say cheese."

Alison is a ham, so she eats the opportunity right up. The blonde offers up an array of poses and Emily gives her best impression of an art director that she can.

"Wait, we should take one together." Alison suggests.

Emily nods and shifts around so her back is facing her. She feels Alison rest her chin on her shoulder and almost flinches at the contact. She has the longer arms of the two, so she holds the phone out and steadies it as much as she can to take it. She pulls it back down to examine as Alison stays propped at the shoulder to gaze at them with her.

"One more, you can't even see the sunset!"

Emily agrees and holds the camera up again. This time Alison's arms curve around the flimsy seat and encompass her waist from behind. She gulps down the feeling that's bubbled up in her throat and prays her hand doesn't shake from the nerves. Thank god they're wearing these life vest's because she's pretty sure her heart is beating a mile a minute.

They repeat the same actions as before and glance through the photos they just snapped. Alison begins to remove her arms, but not before squeezing both of Emily's sides. "Cute."

Its all she say's, but the twinkle that she catches gleaming out of Alison's eyes is almost too much for Emily to bear. She sneaks in a deep breath as she turns back around to put her phone back in the waterproof bag as contact is officially broken. _Stop_.

As the sun continues to set, the two girls stay floating on water, away from the rest of the world. "What if we just let ourselves float off into the water? Find an island, live off coconuts and fish."

"I'm sure there will be plenty of sharks just waiting for us to tip over."

Alison reaches back and playfully hits Emily's upper arm. "Don't say that!" Emily watches as her eyes dart past her shoulder and back towards the direction of the lighthouse. "Let's head over there. Its practically an island anyway."

Emily follows in the direction she's been advised and they sync their rowing just like before. They don't row for long, though, docking their kayak on the beach's shore. As they jump out onto the wet sand, Emily takes notice of the marshes that surround them. It's much more tranquil on this section of the beach then the bustling area she's been used to frequenting.

"Welcome to Higbee Beach." Alison plops down onto the sand and tears off her life vest, now using it as a make-shift pillow and strips off her shoes. Emily follows suit and clips off her vest in the same fashion. Their still close enough to the water that it hits just the tips of their now bare feet and they gaze up at the newly emerging stars.

"Did you know this section is haunted?"

"How so?" Emily asks, inquisitive.

"They say that the ghost of Old Man Higbee roams the coast during dusk." Alison's voice is gruff and lower than usual, making Emily feel the eeriness of their surroundings. "He walks the strands of the beach with a large dog. And up there…" Alison points to the higher dunes that stop just before a mini forest. It's lined with what Emily believes looks like hundred year old driftwood lined fence trails. "They say the ghosts of the old Cape May towns people roam around, just waiting for people like us to taunt."

Emily stares up as Alison trails off with her story and out of nowhere two hands roughly grab her sides. She screams and nearly jumps a thousand feet as Alison dies laughing next to her. "Dammit, Ali!"

"Whose scared now?" Alison's clutching her stomach as she continues her laughing spree.

Emily can't help but find the laughter contagious and cracks a smile. "You're the worst."

Alison giggles and asks a question that feels like its pulled straight out of the sky above them. "So Em, who was your first love?"

Emily arches a brow at the abrupt question. "What? Where'd that come from?"

She shrugs, curious look planted on her face at the reluctance. "Just making conversation."

Emily gulps and wonders if its time to tell the real truth. "Uh, well…there was someone, but I don't know if I was _in_ love."

"Who was your first kiss then?"

"This guy named Ben…" Emily let's out a barf noise, eliciting another giggle from her companion. "We met on the swim team and I think he took it a bit too literally. He kissed like a fish."

"Gross."

"It was so wet and slimy and way too much tongue." Emily gags again at the memory. "What about you? Pining away for your first kiss?"

Alison responds with a simple, "Nope". Its dismissed entirely and Emily never has the chance to probe on. Alison turns on her side, propping her head up with one hand. "So swimming, huh? That explains a lot."

"Explains what?"

Alison has a devious smirk planted across her face and her eyes rake down Emily's body, appraising her every limb. "Those arms for one."

Emily can _feel_ herself turn crimson and thanks the ghosts of Higbee Beach its dark. "Can't be out of shape if you want to win."

"I can see that." Alison smiles all-knowing, unnerving every inch of Emily before returning to lay in her previous position. She scoots a bit closer than before so their shoulders now touch and picks Emily's hand up into her own. "Have you ever had your palm read?"

"Can't say that I have."

Alison's fingers ghost over the lines of Emily's right hand. It sends a chill straight up to the top of her shoulder. "This is your heart line, it's close to the fingers so that means you can be passionate and maybe get a little jealous."

"Go on."

Alison's index finger treads each indent with surgical precision. "Hmm, your life line is interesting." She's teasing Emily now, eyebrow raised, but remaining pensive.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You have a strong, deep life line. Not a lot of people do."

Emily narrows her eyes. "Is that good or bad?"

"It means you're enthusiastic about life and trying to reach your full potential. Depends on how you view it, I guess."

"You're bullshitting me. Where did you learn how to palm read?"

Alison shrugs again. "I watched a youtube video."

Emily bellows out a laugh. "Such a pro."

"We should go to the pier tomorrow." Alison's still playing with her hand, tracing absently now, but still driving Emily's insides mad. "Reacquaint ourselves with the public."

"Maybe." Emily bites the inside of her cheek. She's watching Alison's puzzled reaction to her answer, the faint white light from the lighthouse illuminating her face with every turn.

"Maybe? Come on. I went on a kayak for you. We can get fat on funnel cake." Alison gives her the biggest wounded puppy dog eyes, and god dammit. "Pleeeeease!"

Emily sneaks a glance down to their hands and knows she's already long gone. "Fine." She makes it sound painful, but she's feeling the pain in the same way she's felt it before. Hanging out with Alison is beginning to feel like the best and worst feeling at the same time.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

The pier is alive and well tonight. It's bustling with teenagers and various families scattered about this humid early evening. Lights are flashing and games ding with new winners and losers every minute. Emily jogs along the rickety wooden planks of the pier, managing to dodge a bright yellow tram car in the process. She's just found Alison perched at a post with her left foot bouncing impatiently. Alison makes no effort at a proper hello when she spots Emily and drags her to the nearest food stand.

"I'm starving. I've barely eaten all day." Alison advises with gruff. She orders the largest funnel cake they offer and makes sure it's doused in extra powdered sugar.

"Are you trying to give yourself a heart attack?" Emily can smell the oil from here. She concludes that it means it's just going to taste that much better.

"I'm living, Emily." Alison digs her teeth in the first bite and then tears off a separate piece, offering it up to her friend. "You know you want some." It sounds close to flirtatious and the brunette is wondering if she's imagining her tone. She's held it up to Emily's mouth, hovering in anticipation. "Come on. Choo Choo."

"I'm not a child. I can feed myself. " Emily's eyes narrow and she huffs, but the air causes the powdered sugar to rise up and cover her chin.

Alison snickers and covers up her own mouth with a free hand. "You sure about that?"

"Stop laughing!" Emily joins in along with Alison's contagious laughter over her own clumsy action. She grabs her at the wrist, steadying Alison's hand as it moves with each of her giggles. She leans forward and snatches the edge of funnel cake with her own teeth. She grins even wider in satisfaction and maneuvers the piece into her mouth. She's gotten even more powder on her face and she knows it, but its worth all the joyous noises she's eliciting from the blonde.

"You look ridiculous." Alison's balancing the plate with one hand and begins to wipe the excess from Emily's chin with the other.

Alison's touch is gentle and precise and Emily releases the grip on the wrist she's entrapped. Alison's closer to her now and her finger tips accidentally brush Emily's lips with the last swipe. The whole scene is reminiscent of the cookie fiasco the other day, but so different at the same time. Emily swallows and if she had any ounce of confidence right now she'd kiss her.

Emily glides the tip of her tongue across bottom lip to make sure its rid of the stickiness. Alison doesn't fail to notice the shift in demeanor and Emily catches her sneak a glance at the action. Her index finger comes to the tip of Emily's nose, brushing off a small white remnant and she sends a light blow from her own pursed lips. "All better."

She smiles sweetly at Emily and her gut responds with an eruption of butterflies.

"DING DING DING. We've got a winner!" The nearby game sounds off loudly behind them. It alerts Emily back to reality and whatever tension she's battling within herself.

"Want another bite?" Alison holds the paper plate between them and Emily just nods.

She rips a piece off for herself and grins back. "So, what's the plan for today? Hot dogs, pretzels, fried oreos?"

Alison turns forward and begins walking inwards to the pier's attractions, Emily following. "As tempting as getting fat on fried foods really is, I thought we'd play some games. Ride some rides. Mostly to show you how masterful I am at balloon darts."

"I really pegged you more as a ping pong ball in a fish bowl type of girl."

"That too." She eyes Emily, mind ticking up a retort. "Let me guess, you like knocking those stacks of milk jugs down?"

"You know me so well. Love those jugs." She hears it come out of her mouth and if she could rewind time she would.

Alison almost spares her the ridicule and tosses the plate to the nearby bin. "Then show me what you got, Jugs."

She takes her to the balloon darts first, because of course she needs to show off for Emily. It's comical when she cracks her knuckles before playing.

"Watch and learn." She says with a wink as she turns to pay for the first set of darts.

Alison misses every single time and huffs as she immediately orders another round.

Emily raises a questioning eyebrow. "I thought you said you were good at this?"

"I am, I'm just having an off day."

"Fess up. You just brought me along so I could win you an oversized teddy bear, didn't you?" Emily tries to suppress a smirk, but fails.

"I can win my own, thank you very much. I'm a modern woman." She throws her final dart and the less than sharp tip bounces off the fluorescent colored balloon. "This game is rigged!" Alison shouts as she crosses both arms across her chest in contempt. She looks at Emily for sympathy, but turns back to shoot evil eyes at the teenager working the booth. "Are these balloons even real latex?!"

"Um, uh…" The poor pimply guy stutters and fiddles with his glasses. He turns to Emily, his expression also asking for any sort of sympathetic helpful action to get him out of this.

"Ok come on, Ali. Leave the poor guy alone." Emily begins to tug her away as Alison's still yelling at the teenager about the balloon quality. He looks so frazzled and scared that she peers down to his pants to make sure he hasn't wet himself. He hasn't and Emily isn't sure he'll last much longer if Alison keeps going.

"You're terrifying, you know that?"

"Sometimes it's necessary. I should have-"

Emily lifts a hand up to cover Alison's mouth and the blonde's eyes shoot up in surprise. "Don't kill me for this, but let it go. Now, I'm going to remove my hand and you're not going to yell at me. Promise?"

Alison responds with an eye roll and a reluctant nod yes.

Emily removes it with slight hesitation. They're in front of a new game now, more steered towards Emily's abilities and Alison takes note of this. "Now you're just going to rub salt into my wounds? What kind of friend are you?"

"A good one." Emily pays for her set of balls and hurls the first one at the set of bottles. It doesn't move. Same happens on the second and third.

"Not so cocky now?" Alison teases.

Emily ignores her, the same competitive spirit possessing herself as she pays for three more. This time however, she knocks down the set with the first ball.

"This is so unfair!"

The attendant hands Emily a small teddy bear for her win and Emily graciously accepts. She spins back toward Alison, whom is still pouting with crossed arms.

"You don't like losing do you?"

Her pout deepens. "Nope."

It's too adorable for Emily to take seriously, so she bops the teddy bear nose against Alison's. "I won this for you, cranky pants."

Alison tries her best to keep a straight face. Her resolve melts and she reluctantly accepts the stuffed animal. Because how could she not after that? "This isn't life sized, but I guess it'll do." She hugs the tiny plush bear to her chest. "I'll call him Jugs in your honor."

Emily grins. "Really? Jugs?"

"Well, what else am I going to name him?" She mimic's Emily's action and bops the bear against Emily's nose this time. "Not so terrifying now, huh?"

The brunette's not sure she can take much more of this as blue eyes shine back at her. The cuteness is too overwhelming and if-

"Well isn't this precious." A voice barks from nearby and Emily doesn't recognize it. From the look of recognition that registers on Alison's face though, she surely does as they both turn towards the intruder.

Noel Kahn shuffles up, placing an arm around Alison's shoulder. He is quite clearly ogling the two of them without any mask of respect. Emily decides then and there that she doesn't like him.

There's another boy following behind him, shaggy brown hair and skinnier, but lacking the same pompous confidence.

"Where have you been all week? Cece said you disappeared on her."

"Busy. I don't always have to hang out with you guy's."

"I can see that." He eyes Emily from head to toe and she does the same, but clearly not in the same manner. "And who is this babe?"

Emily runs a rolodex of excuses through her head to get out of this situation.

"Emily, this is Noel. Noel, Emily." Alison holds a hand to her mouth to shield Noel from hearing, but obviously wanting the opposite effect. "He hits on anything with a pulse, so feel free to ignore him or kick him in the balls at any point."

The other boy laughs before being elbowed in the stomach by Noel. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Emily. This idiot over here is Holden."

They exchange polite nice to meet you's and Emily has settled on an excuse to get rid of them, but Noel's too quick for her.

"I see you ladies are out here winning prizes. How about I show you the proper way to win balloon darts?"

Emily knows he's said the magic word and Alison's eyes light up at the opportunity for redemption.

"Bring it, Kahn!"

"Oh, great." Emily mutters sarcastically under her breath. She watches as Alison slides an arm around Noel's waist and his is still draped around her shoulders.

Holden catches her comment, but refrains from probing further. Their sauntering away from the two stragglers and Alison directs him to a different stand than the one from before. "So, how do you know Alison? I haven't see you around before."

"We just met last week. Have been hanging out ever since. You?"

"The three of us all go to school together. Known each other since we were little. Did you grow up nearby?"

"No, just visiting my grandma." She gives a polite closed mouth smile as they continue to trail behind their two friends.

They reach the new booth and Noel begins to roll up his sleeves like it will help somehow.

Alison hands the bear over to Emily to hold with another wink. She's full of them tonight. "Keep Mr. Jugs safe."

"Mr. Jugs?" Holden asks with a chuckle.

"Don't ask." Emily shakes her head, amused.

"So what do you like to do, Emily?" His hands are stuffed in his pockets and he seems just about as uncomfortable as she is.

"Swimming, hanging out, going to the movies…you know the usual stuff most teenagers like to do."

"Cool, cool." He's nodding his head and she can tell he's just waiting for her to ask about him. She glances at Noel and Alison still battling amongst latex balloons. The two of them are both failing miserably and she dreads the verbal abuse they'll hurl at the attendant.

"How about yourself?"

"I'm really into Korean martial arts…" Holden drones on, going off into whatever epic match he's participating in or has participated in. Emily tunes him out, not able to take her eyes off the two in front of her.

After not winning a damn thing, Emily sighs deeply and steps up to the counter to end this. She's got the bear in one hand and the dart in the other, popping all three balloons with each throw.

The three of them stare at her in awe. Emily turns to Noel and smirks as the attendant asks what prize is to be chosen. "He'll take the tiny monkey."

"Where did you find this girl? I think I'm in love." Noel holds a hand to his heart in faux adoration.

"Lay off it, Noel." Alison hits him in the stomach in the same fashion he had to Holden.

"So…pizza anyone?"

Emily realizes she isn't going to get rid of these two anytime soon and continues to follow along to pizza reluctantly. Holden's still going on about some karate tournament as they order slices. She watches Noel hoover in about four of them into his oversized mouth as he tries terribly to flirt with Alison.

She finds herself being quiet as they finish up with their food before Noel guides them back into the sea of people.

Alison looks back at Emily on the way to the next ride and sends a look between her and Holden. She raises eyebrows up and down suggestively like some cartoon character. Emily can't help but grimace back at her. Like she would _ever_.

Alison's confused at the reaction, but turns back to continue onward.

"Let's hit the ferris wheel." Holden pipes up.

Emily stops and palms clench inward as a light sweat begins to grace her brow. The velocity and grandiose metal contraption spotted ahead overwhelming her senses. "Uh, I think I'm gonna sit this out."

"What? Why?" Holden asks.

"I kinda sorta have a thing with heights."

Noel leers smugly. "Holden can keep you safe."

Emily whimpers, writhing both hands together as they make way to the front of the line. Noel and Alison are first, of course, and hand over their perspective tickets to the attendant.

Emily knows what this means. She's seen enough movies to know this ass hat is going to try and make out with her. Why else would you ever go on a ferris wheel? That's it. Before she can comprehend what she's doing, her body stomps forward and pushes herself in front of Noel before he can even sit down.

Alison and Noel both stare at her like she's grown two heads.

Emily doesn't care, she needs to get everything on her mind out of her system. "Noel, _please_ just let me ride this with her. Its important."

"Let's go kids! You're holding up the ride!" The gruff man running the ride shouts at them. She's surprised he doesn't have a cigar dangling from his mouth. "Stupid kids."

"Ok ok. I'm going." Noel holds two hands up and backs up to where Holden is standing utterly confused.

Emily hops in and the conductor just rolls his eyes before starting the ferris wheel again.

It wobbles with the movement and Emily remembers why she didn't even want to get on in the first place. "Oh crap." She really should have sat this out.

"What's up with you? You've been acting weird since we got pizza."

It rocks as it climbs higher. Emily breathe's in deeply to calm her fear and nerves all at once.

"Don't puke on me, please!" Alison requests, eyes wide as Emily's complexion whitens.

Emily hadn't thought she'd be sick, but the mere mention just may make her. "Fuck. I don't know if this was such a good place to do this, but I can't just bottle any of it up anymore." She clenches her eyes, hands gripping the bar tightly. "I'm sorry, I may actually puke and I hate ferris wheels and heights, but my god I'm gay. I can't stand Holden and I'd rather endure this anguish. If I have to hear about karate one more time!"

They've stopped at the top now. A cool breeze lightly blowing and Emily dares to open her eyes back up. _Bad idea. Bad idea._

"Oh." Alison's surprised at the outburst, but throughly amused at the same time. She almost dares to wobble the cart on purpose, but realizes she would rather not risk the upchuck. "Guess we have to ditch those two losers then."

Emily's mind is elsewhere and Alison might as well be speaking gibberish. "Listen, if you want to stay with Noel-"

"I d-" Alison starts, but Emily's already on a tangent.

"It's totally cool, I'm just gonna head home. I should really start packing anyway."

"Would you shut up for a second. I don't want to hang with him. I see him all the time. When do you leave?" Alison questions.

Emily swallows, willing herself to open her eyes yet again and look at the blonde. "A few day's."

Alison peels away one of the terrified brunette's hands from the bar and holds it in both of her own. "Whatever you want to do tonight, I'm doing."

"You really don't-"

"Will you stop blabbering!" The ferris wheel continues to tick down slowly and their due to get off next. She entwines her fingers with Emily's and she squeezes back with an encouraging smile. "We're going to hop off and just start running. Karate boy can eat our dust."

"Okay." She breathes in an out in some aide to calm herself.

Alison's rubbing a thumbs on the back of her hand and she's not sure if its helping or making it worse. "You really hate ferris wheels, don't you?"

"This is a hellish torture."

It finally ticks down to the original position and the man lifts the bar to let them out. Alison squeezes her hand to signal and tugs her out of the seat, pulling her at steady speed. They pass Noel and Holden who look beyond bored to be in one another's company. "Sorry Noel. Gotta go, lady troubles!" She sends a wave with her free hand over her shoulder, not bothering to even look back. They start taking off into a jog before either of the boys can ask any questions. She's pretty sure she heard one of them mutter a gross in there.

They're giggling like little kids as they sprint off. Alison's dragging her in the direction to get off the pier and down towards the street. Instead of pulling her the way she thinks they're going, Emily's tugged underneath the pier and taken further than where they just came.

Vast array's of shoed feet trudge along the wooden planks above them. It's colder and damper down below, the cool ocean breeze that whistles through makes them shiver. "How pissed off do you think they're going to be?"

"Who cares." Alison's still pulling her and it gets quieter the greater the distance they go.

Emily has no idea where she's being taken and she doesn't care. She'd follow her to the ends of the earth at this point. They pass two teenagers who look like their eating each others faces off and Emily notes to never ever kiss like that. _Ever_.

She almost knocks into Alison's back as she stops abruptly. Alison let's go of her hand and assess each wooden pole carefully with a narrowed gaze. She digs behind a tiny marsh and pulls out a bottle of vodka accompanied with a beaming smile. "Shall we?"

"How did you know that was there?"

"I put it there the other night." It's very matter-of-fact as she snags Emily's hand into her own again, leading her in the direction of the barren dark beach. "I hope you like vodka."

It's completely abandoned and even darker than where they just came from. They can still hear the noises radiating off the pier, but there's not a soul around them. The neon lights give them barely enough see ahead, before Alison decides they've arrived where they should be and sits down. She pulls Emily down with her and finally lets go of the hand she's been hoarding.

Emily is handed the bottle of vodka, its a bit warmer than it should be but she swigs it anyway. She tries not to cough as it goes down at first and then takes another big gulp before passing it back.

Alison hasn't said anything about "the gay thing" yet and the brunette won't dare bring it up again. She's pretty sure she heard her, right? _Shit_. Emily thinks, _what if she hadn't?_ She grabs the bottle again and repeats the same action of swigging and passing it back.

"The karate kid must be upset about his failed date."

"He wishes it were a date." Emily rolls her eyes with a scoff. She's already forgotten about him. "Wax on, wax off."

Alison laughs audibly and holds a hand up immediately to her mouth to keep from spewing her drink everywhere. Clearly not expecting the clever quip from her. "Nice one."

Emily digs her finger into the sand, making random patterns to distract from her nerves. They continue to pass the bottle back and forth as Alison admires her work. It's nothing to write home about, but its better than talking about the elephant in the room. She makes sure to etch the finished project with an E.F. at the end.

"Pretty." Alison approves and adds some curves of her own before adding a '+ A.D.'.

Emily stares at the new etching and seeing their initials together makes her palms sweat. All she can picture is adding a heart around it and decides she is officially okay with declaring herself creepy and insane.

Alison notices her frown and takes it in the entirely wrong way. "Did I ruin it?"

"What? No." Emily reassures, completely wrapped up in thoughts she can barely process.

Alison sends a skeptical look before she stands up and Emily thinks she's about to start stomping away. She opens her mouth to apologize, but instead, Alison's hands reach to the hem of her shirt and she's lifting her top over her head.

Emily can barely compute what is happening and gets the shirt thrown at her. When she peels it from blocking her view, Alison's stripping down to her underwear and she's sure she may have stopped breathing. "What are you doing?!" Did she bang her head?

"I want to swim." Alison tosses her shorts absent minded into the air and prances towards the ocean like she just stepped out of Baywatch.

Emily bites her lip in thought and then takes a large swig of the bottle of vodka. It burns like before, but delivers her a whole new set of liquid courage. She tears her own clothes from her body and neatly puts the garments off to the side as she heads to the water. Deeply in contrast to Alison's that have been haphazardly strewn about.

"Ali?" She splashes about, but it's silent and she just knows the girl is up to no good.

She feels a large splash getting her from behind, followed by a boisterous laugh.

Emily's jaw is dropped as soaked strands fall to her face and drops of salt water fall into her eyes.

Alison hops on her back and immediately dunks her before she can even muster a proper rebuttal. When she resurfaces for air, Alison is hanging on her back, arms draped around her neck. She's feeling vengeful so she propels them both backwards, this time dunking them both underwater.

They both resurface with an abundant amount of laughter between them, Alison still holding onto her from behind. She rubs her vision back into place as they float around a bit. Alison's still gripping onto her like a koala.

"So you're gay, huh?" Alison mutters into her ear and Emily may die. It's not judgmental or laced with malice. A tiny simple inquiry, but it's uttered soft enough to stab Emily in the gut in the best of ways.

"Yeah." Emily replies, sheepish. "Is that a problem?" She's almost glad she's not facing her and looks up to the sky with a frown.

'"No." Alison is making no attempts to move as her head leans against hers. "Would I be here if it was?"

Emily's a bit buzzed from the alcohol and is feeling everything right now. From the way her goosebumps form with each warm breath that hits her ear, to the half naked body that's draped behind her and pushed loosely against her back. Boobs. It's all she can think about and she wonders when she's turned into a thirteen year old boy. Maybe she's just as bad as Noel Kahn. Nope, never.

"What's the biggest difference?"

"What do you mean?"

"Kissing."

"I'm pretty biased with my preference." Emily swallows the large lump in her throat, unsure of where this is going.

"I've never kissed a girl."

Emily's head is swimming more than her body. "A lot of people haven't."

"Hmm." Alison releases her grip from Emily neck. She floats back a bit and splashes her playfully again, but it's so small it barely registers.

Emily turns back around in hopes that it's easier to read face to face."Would you want to kiss a girl?" She dips her head into the water, so that only her eyes are visible. She's being bold, but doesn't want to give too much away, so she lifts her mouth above water again to add to her question. "Hypothetically."

Alison is contemplative, but doesn't take long to formulate a response. "Depends."

"Depends on what?''

"If the person wants to kiss me." Alison's eyes are hooded, with a hint of mischief in her inflection. "But you know, hypothetically."

"Yes, of course. Hypothetically." Emily wonders if she'd taste like pizza or funnel cake. Or if by some magical occurrence it'd be fresh minty mouthwash.

"We should get out of here before the police officer does his patrol." Alison splashes her again and starts the short swim back to shore. "We can't get arrested and leave our son an orphan!"

"Our son?" Emily calls back to her as she swims tandem.

"Jugs!"


End file.
